Vodka and Adrenaline
by Random Little Imp
Summary: A follow up to Looking in From the Outside. What happens when bond brings Alec down to Q Branch. (Blame Mistflyer1102 this is all her fault ;) ) Warnings: there will be some near non-con moments later in the story if things go as there are in my head. Not nearly as fluffy as the first tale. A little less 00Q as well, but they are still together and around.
1. Chapter 1

Margot's day had not started out well. She was running late already and missed the first train into work. Then while filing into the next train somebody bumped into her without so much as a 'Pardon me', causing her to spill iced latte all over her new shoes and soaking into her socks. She had an extra pair of trainers in her locker at work, but first she had to get there and the card reader at the door was no longer recognizing her ID Badge. She had to wait to be buzzed in by security, and then fill out the request form for a new badge. By the time she got down to Q Branch it was past ten in the morning, and there was a rather rowdy crowd formed around her desk.

Margot pushed her way through to the front of the crowd only to find Bond and another man using her desk for an arm wrestling competition. Her disks and photos all shoved aside haphazardly to make room for their contest. They seemed to be fairly evenly matched, strain showing on both men shoulders, but smiles on their faces, as neither was able to get the upper hand on the other. This was not what she wanted to have to deal with right now.

"We get it boys, you're both pretty. Now could you move this to somewhere that is not my desk?" At the sound of her request the man she didn't recognize looked up at her suddenly, losing concentration and giving Bond the ability to slam his opponent's hand down to the table. Unfortunately for Margot, they clipped the edge of her inbox on the way down, flipping it and sending a pile of new inter agency memos flying across the floor. She closed her eyes and slowly counted to ten, before looking back to the mess that was her workspace.

"Thank you Phillips. That was just the distraction I needed." A smiling 007 came and put an arm around her shoulders as everyone else returned to their own workspaces. Gently shrugging him off, Margot walked around her desk and silently began to clean up the mess, putting her things back where they belonged. "Right, sorry for the mess. We got a little bored waiting for you."

"Waiting for me? Sorry, I had trouble on the tube. What can I do for you Bond?"

"It's actually what I wanted to do for you; I wanted to introduce you to my friend and fellow agent Alec." Margot looked up to see the other man properly for the first time. He was a little taller than Bond, with brown hair and very green eyes. He was definitely in need of a shave, but otherwise was a very good-looking man. He was holding out his hand to her, and when she placed her hand in his he raised it to his lips and gave it a gentle kiss and a smile.

"Agent?" Margot's mind was working through the information as quickly as she could to figure out who she was dealing with as he perched himself on the edge of her desk. "Oh, you're Alec Trevelyan, 006 right? It's nice to meet you. I've listened in on some of your missions. You have a mouth like a sailor." She tried to smile back at him, although her frustration level was still a little high.

"So you've already taken notice of my mouth have you? Well I can think of a few things I'd like to see you do with your mouth." He gave her a knowing smirk, and an ever so slight eyebrow waggle. She could barely believe what she had just heard. Bond was flirtatious with her in a fun and joking manner. He never meant anything by it, and was never crude. Margot was a bit taken aback by Alec's blunt approach. On any other morning she might have just brushed it off, but this morning it was the last straw. How could Bond think introducing her to this friend of his was a good thing for her?

"I'm sorry but you must have made a mistake, I'm American not a prostitute." The amount of venom she put behind her words surprised even Bond, who actually flinched. Alec on the other hand just lost his smile but otherwise didn't move. "God James, I thought introducing us was supposed to be a thank you."

"Oh I was mistaken alright. You're obviously the exceptionally intelligent type who over-thinks everything and can't take a joke." Alec was standing now, leaning with his hands on her desk trying to stare down the woman before him, unsuccessfully. Margot was not going to back down that easily, not in the mood she was in.

She leaned right into his face, her voice getting louder, "Better to over-think than to not think at all, or would you rather I was barefoot and making you a sandwich."

Bond was starting to drag Alec away from her desk, his face turning an interesting shade of purple now, "Maybe you should lighten up, you oversensitive bitch!"

"Maybe you should crawl back into your cave, you misogynistic ass!" They were screaming now, hurling insults at each other with more colorful language then either should be using at that volume. The whole of Q Branch, and a few of the other offices, was silently watching the disastrous scene play out until Bond was able to get Alec into the lift and the doors shut.

Margot collapsed into her chair, the memo's on the floor forgotten as Q came up beside her. "What the hell is your boyfriend thinking trying to set me up with THAT!" She waved her hand in the general direction of the elevators.

"Alec usually isn't like that. He just came off a two month undercover mission where he had to infiltrate a Russian crime syndicate as a street thug. Sometimes it takes him a day or two to rid himself of his cover story, as it were. You should consider giving him another chance." Q sounded almost apologetic but also pleading.

"There is no way I would ever go for that guy. I'm sorry Q. I can try to be cordial, but that is as far as I am willing to go, and only because you're my friend." She breathed deeply, slowing her heart rate, before going back to clearing up the mess around her. At least this day couldn't get worse.


	2. Chapter 2

As time passed Margot found herself spending quite a bit of her off time in Alec's presence. She was Q's friend and he James' so group activities, when both agents were in London, boiled down to the four of them. At first Q and James were thoughtful enough to make the get togethers some thing where talking among all four was not required, like watching a movie or going to a club.

It was tense in the beginning, neither Alec or Margot doing much more than purposely ignoring the other. As time went on, and they were thrown together more and more, the walls came down slowly. They were far from friends, but they could handle benign conversation without sniping at each other.

Margot was starting to see that Q had been right about Alec, most of the time he was a pretty good guy. He wasn't bad looking either, that certainly didn't hurt. Maybe she had judged him too harshly, too quickly, but her pride kept her from admitting to it. So instead she tried, over time, to be a little more than cordial, even friendly.

It was hard though, she didn't really know how to apologize to him, it's not like she could pop down to the corner shop and pick up a "Sorry I called you a Chauvinist Pig" greeting card. And to be honest she wasn't sure she'd want to anyhow, he hadn't exactly apologized for what he had said that day either. Every once in a while she could almost forget that first meeting and feel like they could be friends, then he would say something that brought it all back into focus for her. It would be all she could do to hold her tongue, for Q's sake.

One such night the four of them were sitting around the coffee table at James and Q's flat, finishing up a game of Cluedo and a third bottle of wine. They were all a little drunk and playfully teasing each other. Q was on the floor at one corner, James next to him in a rather expensive looking lounge chair. While Alec and Margot sat together on the sofa across from him. Margot hadn't actually had that much to drink, knowing she would have to walk home. Sure it was only a couple of streets over for her, but it was still better to keep her wits about her than stumble home blind drunk. Still the atmosphere was contagious, and she found herself quite relaxed and laughing along with everyone else.

"I'm surprised Margot, a lovely girl like you should have better plans for a Saturday night than hanging out with us three. Or isn't there a man in town that doesn't find your intellect intimidating?" Bond said as he refilled her wine glass. She knew what he was doing; still trying to set her up with Alec, but she just smiled and took another sip.

"I'm surprised you didn't go after her James, she's certaininly more than capable of keeping up with your slow ass." Alec laughed, he knew what James was trying to do as well, and easily deflected it back at his friend.

"Oh, I did try once," James said smoothly, "She shot me down without a second's thought. Surprised I came out of it without a broken jaw." There was a sudden choking sound and all eyes turned to Q who was sputtering and coughing on his wine.

"You did what?"was all the genius could get out between coughing fits.

"I thought you told him!" James looked over at Margot, her face red.

"Why would I tell him, he's not my boyfriend! Besides, what's there to tell, you never had a chance with me." She smiled over at the agent across from her, letting her embarrassment slide away. Alec meanwhile had dissolved into uncontrollable laughter beside her.

"That's true, I suppose I have more to worry about from you." James leaned back in his chair with a smug look on his face as he turned to Q, "She told me once that she thought you had a, what was it you said exactly, 'pert little ass" wasn't it."

Now it was Margot's turn to choke on her wine, "You rat bastard," she stood quickly, swinging a throw pillow at him while he tried to duck, "I can't believe you just said that. I'm going to beat you!" Everyone was laughing by this point, but she didn't stop her attack. Alec had wrapped his arms around her waist, not to pull her back, but to steady her so she didn't fall too far forward, and amazingly she found she didn't mind.

After finally regaining control of his laughter Q stood and took the pillow from Margot, stopping the assault, "Alright alright, everyone likes my bum. I'm flattered, but my ass only has eyes for one person."

Margot collapsed on to the couch in a fit of giggles, Alec's arms slowly releasing her, "I never said anything about liking your ass."

Q turned to Alec with a look that was all sass, "You know you love it, just admit it." which just started another round of laughter from everyone.

When the laughter finally started to slow, Alec took a deep drink from his wine glass and said, "Can you imagine the games of Spin the Bottle we could have with the four of us."

Margot's not sure why but that was enough for her suddenly, "And that is my cue to go." She stood up and walked towards the door collecting her things on her way.

Q got up and followed her, "Margot, please, don't leave now."

"Come on, it was just a joke!" Alec called from the sofa.

Margot ignored him and turned to Q, "It's alright, I have to be at the office early tomorrow anyhow. You have that budget meeting with M after lunch and I wanted to go over the numbers one more time before hand."

She let herself out into the hall and pressed the button to call the lift. It was quiet in the hallway, the revelry of James' apartment trapped behind sound proof walls. What was wrong with her, it was a joke, she knew it was. If it had been James that had said it she would have laughed with everyone else. Why was she so against Alec, he was a nice guy. She should be friends with him; her hand unconsciously ran over her waist where his arms had been minutes ago, or more than friends.

No, no she was not going to let him worm his way into her mind, or her pants her brain added. She felt a surge of warmth that should not be there. Treacherous brain, how could it be so cruel to her. She had to admit, remembering the feel of his arms around her waist, it had been nice. His arms felt strong, steady and safe. Safe? Not the word one would usually attributes to a Double-0 agent.

She was still thinking about this when she heard the door open behind her. She turned and saw Q, now in his coat, walking up to her. "Q, what are you doing?"

"I'm walking you home. It's late and I want to make sure you're safe."

"You don't have to do this, it's only a couple minutes walk. I'll be fine."

"It's either me, or I'll get Alec to do it. Then he'd know where you lived." His eyes stared into hers and she knew he wasn't joking.

"Fine." She answered with a sigh, as the doors to the lift opened. The two friends got in and rode down in silence.

They had barely made it to the first corner when the black van jumped the curb and stopped right in their path. Three men in masks jumped out of the side door as Q pulled a 9mm out from under his coat. He managed to fire off one shot, but it went wild as they were both tackled to the ground. Margot managed a short scream before her mouth was covered by a large callused hand.

Q was dragged into the van where they began to restrain him with tape, and Margot heard the one holding her ask, "What about the girl?"

From somewhere in the van she heard a voice answer, "Bring her too, she's seen too much. We can get rid of her later." And then she was hauled into the van as well. They began taping her up much like they had Q, and drove off at a high speed.


	3. Chapter 3

Margot's life expectancy had dropped to nearly negative numbers in the last few minutes. She knew this right down to her core. Q had been the intended target, not her, he was practically a national treasure, and she was just his PA. The only reason they had grabbed her was because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Q was the meal ticket, they ransom him off they could get just about anything, cash, cars, and helicopter filled with Minstrel candies. All they'd get for her was laughed at and hung up on.

She was as good as dead already, and that knowledge actually calmed her. Knowing exactly what was going to happen, and knowing there was not a darn thing she could do about it made her worry less about it. She was worried for Q though. She had no doubt the 007 would come for him, even against orders if he had to. He would fly into danger for his quartermaster, killing anyone who may have even drew breathe in the vicinity of the kidnapping. He would come, even if he got himself killed in the process, but then where would Q be.

Meanwhile Margot would be rotting away somewhere, her body hidden away in an abandoned tunnel or dumped in the Thames to wash up downstream. It could take weeks or maybe months before anyone found her remains, and no one was going to come charging in to avenge her.

* * *

Bond and Alec had both heard Q's one stray shot, but by the time they got to the street all that they found was the gun tossed aside and some tire tracks leading away from the building. Bond immediately called it in and the two agents made their way into MI6 headquarters.

They stood in Q Branch with Eve, drinking coffee and watching the techs scurry around under Tanner's direction. Q had been outfitted with the same type of tracking beacon as Bond had as soon as he was made department head, it was regulation. Getting a lock on the signal seemed to be giving the techs trouble though; there was some interference they were still trying to find a way of working around.

Tanner turned back to the two agents, "It seems they have taken Q somewhere underground, it's partially blocking his tracker's signal. It won't take too long for them to get a better lock on it, and then you can go in to retrieve him."

"Them," It came out as almost a growl, causing Tanner to look towards Alec, "To retrieve them."

Tanner looked back to Bond for an explanation, "Phillips was with Q at the time of the abduction, there was no sign of her at the scene, so it's safe to assume they grabbed her as well." Bond was managing to hold his composure a bit better than Alec appeared to be.

"Right," Tanner paused in thought, "are we sure she didn't have a hand in this? She could have been planning this abduction for her own gain."

Alec looked like he was about to punch Tanner, "She didn't have anything to do with this, she'd never betray us like that you pompous little shit."

Bond tried to cover Alec's last little insult by interrupting, "There is no way she could have planned this, Q had not decided on walking her home till the last moment. He wanted to talk to her about something that had happened earlier in the evening. Usually Alec shadows her to her door when she walks."

Tanner cocked an eyebrow at the last little realization, and hazarded a glance at Alec before continuing, "Well if that is the case, and she was just collateral damage, I wouldn't expect them to keep her alive. It won't take them long to realize she isn't going to get them much in the way of ransom."

"Just find them and they won't have a chance to send in a ransom demand." Alec was nearly yelling now. Tanner felt extremely lucky that one of the techs choose that moment to bring him the coordinates of the beacon. Bond grabbed it from the tech, took Alec by the arm and headed down to the armory.

* * *

Beneath the streets of London Margot was hauled out of the van and deposited in a chair. Q was then dragged past her to another room with a heavy metal door. They locked him in, but she saw him watching from a small grated window in the top half of the door. They obviously didn't see a reason to lock her up, because she wasn't going to be here that long. She sighed, and slumped forward a little in defeat as Q yelled at the men to stay away from her.

She had sat there for about an hour, her adrenaline from the initial assault had long since worn off, and the wine in her system was making her a little sleepy. She had just started to doze off when their apparent leader finally made an appearance.

"So, this is the little bird that got caught up in our net." He came around to stand before her, lifting her chin so she was looking up at him, "Such a shame, you are a pretty thing, but you have no value to me. Such a waste." He turned to one of the other men, "Take care of her, then dump her body in the sewers. Feel free to have some fun with her first, if you like." She heard Q scream for her as she was lifted from her chair and dragged down a darkened corridor. It was then that she finally allowed herself to cry, silent tears running down her cheeks.


	4. Chapter 4

Q was still banging on his cell door, screaming for Margot, when the first explosion went off. The noise threw everyone still in the room to the ground. All Q could do was smile in relief as he recognized the blast type as one of his own. James had come for him. He stayed on the floor while gunshots rang out from the other side of his door. He recognized two weapons making swift work of his captors, so Alec had come as well.

It wasn't long after the gunfire had stopped that the door was pulled open and Q was looking up into the blue eyes of his lover. "Hello.", was all he could manage before the shock set in and he started laughing uncontrollably. James dropped to his knees and pulled the younger man into a fierce hug.

Alec dropped next to the two men one hand on James' shoulder, "Where's Margot?" he asked with urgency.

"Oh, God." Q broke out of his relief induced hysteria and looked up at Alec, "They took her away. They're going to kill her and dump her in the sewers!"

A low growl came out of Alec's throat as he stood to go after her. "They said they were going to have some fun with her first." As soon as Q spoke the words it felt as if all the air was sucked out of the room, both agents knew exactly what that meant. It was then that they heard the distant scream.

"No," Alec took off down the corridor, "Not her."

* * *

Margot couldn't stand. She had tripped over her own feet and fallen resulting in what seemed to be a twisted ankle. Her fall upset one of her captors enough by the delay for him to kick her. She had screamed at the sudden sharp pain in her ribs. He screamed at her to get up, but when she couldn't stand on her ankle he slapped her and had the other two men drag her into a nearby room.

It appeared to be some sort of locker room with tile walls and showers. They threw her down on the cold floor and one of the men knelt near her head holding her down by the shoulders. The one who had kicked her squatted above her and pulled open her jeans, tugging them down her thighs. She was screaming again, and fighting to get away. Dying was one thing, but even she couldn't stand the idea of this type of humiliation.

He slapped her again and told her to shut up. 'No one can hear you; no one is coming to save you." He pulled out a knife and held it out towards her throat, "Now settle down or I will cut the tongue out of that pretty little mouth of yours." He smiled at her as she immediately stops fighting. He put the knife between his teeth as he stood and began working his belt open.

He started to fall before she even registered the shot. Suddenly the hands holding her down were gone as the two other men jumped up and tried to find where the shot came from. Someone had come for her, and she cried with joy. Margot quickly pulled her pants back up and waited. It wasn't long before the two men were dead as well and Alec Trevelyan was wrapping his arms around her.

"Are you alright?" he looked her over, trying to find any injuries. His eye fell on her jeans, hastily pulled into place, zipper still undone. "Did they, did they hurt you?" He couldn't bring himself to ask what he really wanted to.

"They slapped me a couple of times, kick to the ribs, I twisted my ankle. I can't walk on it." There were shouts in the down corridor heading their way. "Oh god, we're not going to get out of here are we?" She was starting to panic, this day was just too much for her to handle.

Alec shifted one of his arms under Margot's legs and carried her to a utility closet near the front of the shower room. "I'm sorry," panic was creeping into her whispered words as they rushed out of her now, "I'm sorry for what I said that first day. I'm sorry for the way I've treated you since. I'm so sorry; I never gave you a chance."

"Shhh, don't, it wasn't just you. That first day, I was running off of vodka and adrenaline, I should have known better than to even open my mouth." Alec reached up and gently brushed his fingers across her cheek in a soothing way.

"I just needed you to know that in case, well in case we don't make it out of here." Tears were filling her eyes at the thought that after all this she still might not make it out of this alive.

Alec just smiled at her, "We're not going to die. You know why? Because we are so very pretty. We're just too pretty for God to let us die."

"Did you just make a Firefly reference?" Her eyes went wide with shock and laughter, "When did you watch Firefly?"

"Remember last month when I got stabbed in the thigh and Medical put me on bed rest for a week. Well I remembered how you and Q were always going on and on about it, I figured I should check it out." Margot couldn't help but giggle at the thought of this big bad agent sitting in bed having a Firefly marathon. "You know, once I got past the whole outer space idea it was pretty cool. I can totally see you and Q doing Simon and Kaylee costumes now."

"The term is cosplay. Oh! You could join us dressed as Jayne."

"I'd need the hat."

"Of, course. You can't be Jayne without the hat." Her panic forgotten, she suddenly couldn't help but smile up at her rescuer. Pressed together in the closet it was beginning to feel very intimate. Margot wasn't sure what made her do it, but in that moment she reached up, pulled Alec's face down and pressed her lips to his.

Alec returned the gentle kiss, but only for a moment. He pulled away slowly. "This really isn't the time or place for this discussion, you know."

"You're right." Margot agreed a little breathless.

"Let's get you out of here, but I promise you we will finish this talk."


	5. Chapter 5

Q and Bond were crouching in the burnt remains of the Agents' point of entry, waiting for the return of Alec and Margot. It had been just a few minutes since 006 had run off in the direction of the screaming and Q was worried. "Do you think she's alright?"

Bond kept his gaze forward, watching for any movement, "That was not a scream of happiness Q." He didn't want to hurt Q but he couldn't bring himself to lie. It was better that they expect the worse but hope for the best at this point. He knew Alec wouldn't come back empty-handed, but that didn't guarantee a happy ending.

"Do you think he'll get there before they, you know, before they kill her?" Q's voice was meek and cracked a bit.

"Lord help them if he doesn't." It was then that the sound of gun fire began to echo down the corridor. There were shouts for reinforcements from voices that did not belong to Alec. Knowing his friend's extensive list of skills, Bond was not surprised that this one man was giving them so much trouble. It almost made him smile at the thought.

The noise was getting closer, and Bond heard the sound of someone running their way. He took careful aim at the corner of the doorway in front of him and Q. Moments later Alec came running around the corner with Margot slung over his shoulder. She had a small 9mm in her hands, presumably covering their back. Alec was practically giddy as he gently dropped down beside Q and Bond, placing himself down next to them. "I told you I was a lousy shot." Margot said as she handed the gun back to Alec.

"What are you talking about? You got that one guy in the leg." Alec was busy putting a new clip in the gun before placing it back in his holster.

"I was aiming for his chest." Margot said with a grin right before being crushed in a hug from a relieved Q. "Ow, ow,ow."

Q quickly releases her, looking at his friend with concern, "Oh my god, what did they do to you!"

"They kicked her in the ribs." Alec answered Q, all levity having left his voice.

"Well then, let's get these two valuable assets back to MI6 so medical can look them over." Bond couldn't help a small smile at how well things had gone.

"But you hate medical, you call them minions of the devil!" Q looks at his lover with surprise.

"That's for me, this is about you and I would break into Hell itself if I thought for one minute it would help you." He pulled Q into a crushing embrace, sealing their lips together for a passionate kiss.

* * *

They didn't end up spending too long in medical as Q had only minor scrapes and bruises. Margot was lucky not to have any broken ribs but they told her breathing too deeply would hurt for a while. They wrapped her ankle and gave her some pain killers, a pair of crutches and told her to stay off her feet as much as possible for at least a week. They put her down for mandatory leave so she could stay at home in bed.

Bond had already left with Q by the time Margot hobbled out of medical. She had been trying to figure out the best way to get herself home. It was pretty late so she couldn't take the tube, so a taxi would be her best bet. She'd have to stop and get some cash somewhere first though. She was trying to remember the closest cash point to HQ when Alec came around the corner. "Are they done with you already, terrific. I got us a driver to take us back to your flat."

"Us?" she was surprised he was still there, even more so that he was taking the trouble to make sure she got home safe.

"Yes us. You didn't think I'd let you go home by yourself did you?" He came up to her, placing his hands on her waist and leaning down till their foreheads were touching, "Beside, we have a conversation to finish if you remember."

She did remember, when he didn't stay with her in medical her brain had convinced her that it hadn't had the impact on him that she had thought it had. She had never been so glad to be wrong in her life. "Of course I remember."

After entering her flat Alec quickly moved from room to room making sure it was safe while Margot slowly hung up her coat. Satisfied, he came back to her side and helped lead her to the bedroom en suite. "You should clean up a bit and get in some pajamas. Would you like some tea or something?"

"Don't have much of a taste for tea, but there are some Bailey's in the cupboard. A glass of that with ice would be very nice." She headed for the sink.

"That's my kind of girl." She heard him head back out to the kitchen, closing the bedroom door on his way.

Margot washed the dirt and grime off her face and stripped out of her clothes, fingers running gently over the boot shaped bruises over her ribs. She threw on a loose t-shirt and some sweatpants and headed back towards the door. She was stopped near the end of her bed as everything that had happened finally caught up with her. Her mind screamed and shut down as she crumbled to the floor in tears. That's where he found her ten minutes later, after getting worried when she didn't come back out. She was still sobbing even then, her ribs hurting with every hitched breath.

Alec wrapped his arms around her, gently lifting her off the floor. Margot clung to him like he was a life-preserver and without him she would drown. He placed her on the bed and gently slipped her under the covers. Letting go of her he slowly began to move away but she reached out quicker than he thought possible. Margot grabbed his wrist and looked up at him, "Don't leave, please."

Alec leaned down and placed a chaste kiss to her head, "Never love. I just need to take my boots off." She gently released her grip on him and curled back up under the duvet. Alec quietly joined her under the covers, wrapping his arms around her as she burrowed into his chest. He stayed like that the rest of the night, listening to her breathing calm until she finally fell into a deep sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Margot and Q were sitting in an internet café near her flat, each had a cup in front of them. Margot had a coffee while Q stuck with his usual Earl Grey. He had a laptop open in front of him, but he wasn't paying attention to it, instead he was focused on his friend. "I'm pushing him away and I don't know how to stop myself." Tears were forming in her eyes as she spoke. It was early afternoon on Saturday, a couple weeks after the kidnapping. Margot's hands gripped her coffee cup as if it was the only thing that mattered; her head hung down as she tried to fight back the tears. Margot was not going to cry again, she had done enough of that the past two weeks already.

Q looked at his friend as she tried not to break down in front of him. He reached out one hand and wrapped it around hers. "What are you talking about? Alec cares for you more than anything else in his life. I've never seen him so focused before, and it's all because of you. He's not going to give this up."

"I can't give him what he wants; I can't give him the, the intimacy that he deserves. I try, we try, but every time we get to a certain point and I freeze up. I don't mean to, don't want to, but I can't stop myself." She glances up at her friend, pleading with her eyes for some answer, some wisdom to help her.

"You had a traumatic experience; it's not something you just get over. It takes time. Alec knows this, he understands. It doesn't change anything for him; he just wants you scars and all, even emotional ones.

"I know that's what he says, but he's getting frustrated. I can tell, soon enough he's not going to want to wait for me anymore. He's going to find someone else." Margot stood up to leave, cheeks wet with tears.

Q reached out and took her wrist gently, "He's not going to do that."

"He will if I tell him to. He's deserves more than I can give him, whether he'll admit it or not." She gently pulled away from her friend, and slowly walked out, her slight limp the only remaining, visible injury.

Alec was furious, which was terrifying for Johnson, the armory tech that had just moments before handed the agent a long string of explosives. They looked just like firecrackers, but just one packed enough punch to blow a hole in a concrete wall. The tech looked from the fuming agent to the explosives and then to the small Q Brach tech that had put him in the bad mood and decided retreat was the best course of action. Why did Q Branch always feel the need to aggravate the Double 0 agents?

"What do you mean we shouldn't see each other anymore?" Alec couldn't believe he was hearing this.

Margot couldn't bear to look him in the eye, "You deserve someone better, someone who can actually give you what you want, and that's not me."

"Who says that you get to decide what I want, I'm pretty sure I know what I want, and that's you." He tried to say the last part as gently as he could as he reached out and lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes.

"You say that now, but how long will that be true if I can't...you know if I can't give you, you know, a real relationship." Margot blushed as she stumbled over the words, "Eventually you'll decide to find someone else, someone who can give you all those things and leave me anyhow. This is my way of letting you go find that someone now instead of later."

Alec was feeling a new wave of anger flow through him at her words, "For someone who is so fucking smart, you can be a real idiot, you know that. I don't care about what you can or can't give me, I care about you. I am not going to just stand by while you decide my life for me when I already have what I want."

It was at this point Tanner entered the Armory, "006 I thought you had a military plane to Costa Rica to catch. Get moving or you'll miss it, and I am not paying for civilian plane ticket."

Alec grabbed his supplies and threw them into the duffel bag on the counter next to him, "We'll talk about this when I get back." He said to Margot as he turned to leave.

"We're done talking about this." She answered him, trying to sound forceful.

"The hell we are!" Alec called back as he ran down the corridor.

Later that evening Margot was sitting on Q's couch, slumped over a glass of Moscato, trying not to think about the day that had just ended. "So," Q was standing with her back to her looking through his Blu-Ray collection. "Romantic comedy, action, suspense, what are we in the mood for tonight?" He turned to look at his friend as she glance up at him a look of sadness and defeat on her face. "Right, zombie movie." He grabbed a case from the shelf and headed over to the entertainment system to get it started.

It was then that Bond came in from the kitchen carrying a tray of snacks, "Margot, why do I have a message in my voicemail from Alec telling me I need to straighten you out? What did he do now?" He set the tray down on the coffee table and sat next to her expecting to hear some ridiculous story about how Alec keeps leaving dirty dishes in her sink or said something disparaging about one of her favorite sci-fi shows. What he didn't expect was her to look up at him and burst into tears.

"It's all my fault, I'm so screwed up right now, I just wanted him to have someone not screwed up, but he won't listen to me." Bond wasn't sure what she meant but she had curled up upon herself and was sobbing at this point and he was pretty sure he wouldn't be getting any answers from her now. Luckily it was then that Q sat down and explained it all to him.

"They haven't had sex yet because she hasn't yet gotten over the trauma of the kidnapping. She thinks he's getting frustrated and would have broken it off himself soon."

Bond looked at the emotionally broken woman beside him, understanding the desire to avoid the pain of someone leaving you, rejecting you. He reached out gently and placed his hand on her leg. It was a bit of a surprise when he felt her muscles lock up so suddenly from his soft touch. Margot froze for a second before her conscious mind was able to calm her muscles back down. It only took seconds but the reaction was so extreme that even Q saw it, it was then that Bond truly knew the depth of her problem.

Margot looked up from between her fingers, afraid of what she would see on the faces of her friends and was surprised to find Bond smiling warmly at her. "Reconditioning." Is all he said before standing up and walking to the other side of the coffee table. Q and Margot both stared at him in confusion. "We can fix this. It will take time, and patience, but we can recondition your mind to not see every touch as a threat. Repetition of being touched without threatening your safety could help your mind ease back into allowing normal intimacy."

"What exactly are you talking about James?" Q asked, sounding less than convinced.

"It's simple, you, and me and maybe one other Q Branch tech touches Margot innocently throughout the day. We place a hand on her back or waist in a non-threatening manner over and over again, until eventually her subconscious stops reacting as if it's a fight or flight situation." Bond sounded so confident, as if it was just that simple. Margot wasn't convinced.

Q on the other hand looked impressed with the idea; he even smiled a little as he contemplated the probabilities in his head. "We could get Marcus to help as well. He's harmless enough, except when he dresses up as Tina Turner from Mad Max on the weekends. He puts on a great show, we should go sometime. The three of us should be able to get in enough contact throughout the day, that is of course, if Margot is up for this." He turned to look at her, smiling encouragingly.

"Just touching right, not grabbing or pulling?" She wanted to be sure of what she was hearing before agreeing to anything. James came back around the coffee table and kneeled in front of her, placing a hand on her thigh lightly causing her to tense up again.

"Nothing more than that, I promise." He said it softly, looking her right in the eyes to show the truth of his statement. Margot sighed slightly and nodded her consent. Bond smiled, "I've got a couple days at HQ so I'm also going to offer you some private lessons in self defense, help build up your self confidence. Maybe even a trip to the firing range, it could be fun." Bond smiled. "Alec won't be back for at least two weeks, why don't we see where you are then before making any hasty decisions, alright?"

"It won't matter, two weeks away and he'll come to his senses, maybe meet some voluptuous blonde and remember what he's been missing for the last couple weeks." Margot shook her head.

"Months." Q corrected, "What he's been missing the last couple months." Margot looked up at Q confused. "Alec hasn't slept with anyone on mission or off for at least two, maybe three months, not since he started falling for you. He's not going to give up on you that easily."

Margot wished she could say the next couple of weeks flew by, but they didn't. She had to admit though, 007's plan seemed to be working. The first few days were hell; Q, James and Marcus were relentless. Heck they would just find excuses to come around her desk to get next to her, and every time the touched her all her muscles would tense up. She had soreness all along her back and neck, Q would give her a massage in the evenings which would feel good but still make her tense up some. Plus she had bruises on her knees from banging the underside of her desk every time she jumped in her seat. But it was getting better.

Most of Q Branch was completely obilivious to what was going on, but M took notice during a visit with Q about his latest prototype explosive. "Why does everyone seem to feel the need to touch your PA Q?" Luckily Bond was able to explain it to M in hushed tones, and no one else, except Tanner, took notice of them. The next time Tanner brought down some paperwork for Q to look over he gently placed his hand on the small of her back as he walked past her and out of Q's office.

Bond's self defense instruction was almost fun, and very enlightening. The first time she managed to flip the agent over her shoulder and onto the floor by herself was empowering, she felt almost giddy afterwards. The trip to the firing range was almost as good. The first gun he had her fire was just a little .22 pistol. Bond showed her the proper way to load and aim the little gun then had her fire off a few shots at the paper target at the end of the short firing lane. The first time she barely nicked the edge of the paper, but eventually she got in a shoulder hit. "At least you don't talk to the targets. The first time I brought Q down here he was going on about his 'pretty floral bonnet'. It was a little odd." Bond said with a smile.

Guns were obviously not going to be her strong suit, it didn't help that anything with a caliber larger than .22 had too much kick for her weak arms to handle. Not to mention the shell casings had a bad habit of flying back, getting stuck in her hair and burning her scalp. After that happened she always pulled her hair up at the range.

The combination of the three exercises did seem to be working though, and by the end of the two weeks, the gentle touches barely made her shiver, and she was capable of disarming and immobilizing Bond from almost every attack scenario he threw at her. She was excited by the idea of testing herself out in an intimate situation with Alec and maybe getting farther than they had before. So when he did return, and didn't come by and find her right away it was heartbreaking.


	7. Chapter 7

She knew he had returned when she heard some of the women from Intensions talking about it. They knew Margot and Alec were seeing each other, and knew she was standing behind them in the lift, but some of the office workers were a bit catty when there was something they wanted but couldn't have. It seemed they all wanted Alec, and didn't understand why he didn't want them. So when they mentioned his returning from mission with the brunette CIA operative named Erin they made sure they were loud enough for Margot to hear. It seemed Erin had dragged Alec back out of MI6 as soon as they dropped off the intel and equipment. Erin had said something about finding a nice place for a drink.

So Alec had found someone while he was gone. Margot shouldn't have been surprised, it's exactly what she said would happen. Of course Alec had no way of knowing what had been happening back here, he hadn't had any time for personal phone calls. It was painful to think that he brought his latest conquest back to MI6 with him though, he had to have known there was a chance of running into Margot, or had that been the plan. No, Alec wasn't cruel enough to rub it in her face like that. Erin was CIA; she must have needed to be at the debriefing or something. Margot was suddenly glad she had been in the file room when they came through. That evening she went home alone and drank the majority of a bottle of wine while watching sappy romantic comedies.

It was amazing that she didn't have more of a hang over the next morning, but that didn't improve her mood much. She just sat at her desk and started going through Q's emails and schedule alerts for the day. Pretty soon the rest of the techs arrived and Q Branch buzzed with energy as they ran about working on proto types with R&D or running missions for other Double 0s. She was just reading over an email she had composed when the new man entered the room.

He was about the same height as Bond with short cropped brown hair and dark blue eyes. He was scanning the activity with a small grin on his face. Margot was about to say something to him when he spotted her and headed straight for her desk. "Can I help you?" Margot said simply, looking him over and spotting the guest pass clipped to his belt, it showed a fairly high clearance level so she tried to show him professional respect with her tone.

His smile broadened as he heard her speak. "You're American, awesome." He held out a hand to her which she took without thinking. He gave it a quick shake, but didn't let go, holding her hand gently but firmly, "I'm Aaron Cross, CIA, and who might you be?"

Now she felt foolish, it was Aaron not Erin. She couldn't help but smile at her mistake. Of course the women in the lift had probably left off the gender specifics on purpose to throw Margot for a loop. "Margot Phillips, it's very nice to meet you."

"I'll say it is. I wasn't expecting to find any Americans in the heart of British Intelligence, and certainly not one this lovely." Aaron raised her hand and placed a gently kiss to her knuckles. He was flirting with her, she could hardly believe it. His friendly blue eyes gazed into hers, and she couldn't help but blush. She knew she shouldn't be enjoying the attention, but Alec had yet to make any contact with her, not even a text message to let her know he was home. If this American agent wanted to throw her a harmless compliment or two, who was she to stop him. It certainly didn't hurt that he was quite easy on the eyes.

It was then that Alec finally managed to get down to Q Branch. After two weeks in the field, all he wanted to do when he got back was apologize to Margot for blowing up at her before he left. He hadn't changed his mind, he still thought she was crazy for thinking that he was going to run off on her the next time some pretty little thing wandered across his path, but he had lost his temper. It was uncalled for. He would have run by to see her last night after the debriefing but Aaron had insisted they needed to blow off some after action steam at the pub.

Aaron didn't seem to spend much time around people and had been talking non-stop since they met up a week and a half before. He was a nice enough guy, for an American, but there was only so much of him Alec could stand. Alec was ready for his downtime to start, and the only person he wanted to spend that time with was Margot. So when he got to Q Branch and saw none other than Aaron Cross perched on the edge of her desk, kissing her hand, he had to stop and count to ten before heading over. Was she smiling at him? Alec had to start counting again.

Margot saw Alec come up behind Aaron, and her smile brightened. Finally he had come to find her; he glanced at her smiling face and gave her a little grin back before clamping a hand down on Aaron's shoulder. "Hey buddy, are you enjoying your little stroll around MI6?" Alec was all smiles and light in tone, but by the grimace on Aaron's face one could tell his grip was tighter than necessary on the other man's shoulder. He was jealous. Margot knew that it shouldn't make her happy to see him being forcefully possessive like that, but her heart did do a little jump in her chest at the sight.

"I was just saying hello to Margot…OW..Ms. Phillips. One American to another…and now I think I'll go say hi to someone else." Good thing Aaron was smart; he picked up on the not so subtle hint very quickly. Unfortunately for Aaron, before Alec had a chance to let go of him Tanner and Bond came out of Q's office, stopping to drop some papers off with Margot on their way. Slipping back behind her they both placed a hand on her lower back in turn. His grip tightened and Aaron nearly collapse onto her desk, then broke loose with a quick hit to Alec's outer arm. Alec didn't even take notice of this. Aaron then made a hasty retreat to one of the other tech's desk.

Tanner looked up at Alec, "Welcome back 006, and congratulations on the successful mission." He didn't seem to notice that Alec was turning quite red in the face. Bond noticed it though and stood silently off to the side. At that moment Marcus came over with an acquisition report that he placed in Margot's inbox by reaching around from behind her, while lightly placing his other hand on her waist.

Alec turned slightly purple before blowing up at everyone, "Why the hell is everyone putting their hands all over my girlfriend?!"

Margot quickly got up, trying to think of the fastest way to diffuse Alec before he took a swing at anyone, while mentally jumping up and down with delight that he had just announced to the room that she was in fact 'his girlfriend'. Putting what they had into relationship terms was not something either had talked about before then. She ran around her desk to get in front of him, she placed her hands softly on either side of his face and pulled his eyes down to look at her. "It's not what you think, let's go somewhere and talk, okay?"

She saw him take a few deep breaths, and close his eyes for a moment as he calmed himself down. His face soon returned to its natural shade. Q silently offered his office, as he had heard Alec's yelling even through his soundproofed walls. As soon as the office door closed behind them Margot turned to explain everything but never got the chance. Alec instantly pulled her into his arms and kissed her as if he hadn't seen her in a year not just a fortnight. His hands rubbed on her back, slowly going lower till they got to her waist. He stopped suddenly, expecting her to tense up. He was surprised when she didn't.

He pulled back just enough to see her smile up at him, and that's when it all started making sense, "Reconditioning."

"It was James' idea. It's going really well." She smiled up at him and saw him smile back before crushing her lips with another deep kiss. His hands trailed along her waist, even going so far as to slip a finger under the waistband of her slacks. Margot shivered a little at the skin to skin contact, but in a good way. She suddenly wished it was the end of her day, not the beginning.


End file.
